still too bloody random

General discussion about the game.
timaeus
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:38 pm

Re: still too bloody random

Postby timaeus » Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:15 pm

I agree with those saying that randomness is largely the point of roguelikes, and are a big part of what keeps the game interesting.

I'm somewhat confused as to the apparently common complaints about not finding what you need in stores. How many stores do you visit? Personally, I tend to *avoid* stores, unless I really need repairs or fuel, or need to unload my cargo hold. Playing in normal, scrap is so scarce that I can't afford to buy stuff that I don't really need, and I want to maximize my ability to acquire more scrap. I tend to get plenty of weapons just from normal encounters--especially in the latest build, where enemies seem to offer weapons as part of surrender much more frequently. And a lot of quests seem to end in finding a store, which saves me the trouble of having to seek one out when I'm in need.

As far as advice to help you beat the game: adapt your strategies to what you happen to find. If you frequently go to stores trying to find the exact equipment you want, then you're just shorting yourself on the scrap you could otherwise find from encounters. You can often end up with a full complement of drones, weapons, augments and crew without having to buy any (or much) of those from stores.
veryalien
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 2:45 pm

Re: still too bloody random

Postby veryalien » Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:02 am

Simple fix for this. Make stores bigger and always have a random selection of drones, equipment, and weapons. NOT exclusively drones, weapons or equipment.
Boozdeuvash
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:48 am

Re: still too bloody random

Postby Boozdeuvash » Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:04 am

I played my share of nethack (a small amount by nethack addict standard, so a couple hundred hour) and the random was fun, but if you messed at some point, you always had the possibility to salvage the situation. Here, you cannot save/load (well, not without a little hacking) , and you have a giant fleet hot on your six, so it's not possible.

That being said, I would largely prefer an unforgiving game where you lose because of mistakes without possibility to save/load or otherwise salvage your game, rather than a random game where you can just quickload when the shit hits the fan a little too hard.
Syphus
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2012 11:37 pm

Re: still too bloody random

Postby Syphus » Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:47 am

timaeus wrote:I agree with those saying that randomness is largely the point of roguelikes, and are a big part of what keeps the game interesting.


Dear this thread,

Welcome to Rougelikes.

Love,

Me
Darthcaboose
Posts: 109
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 2:14 pm

Re: still too bloody random

Postby Darthcaboose » Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:33 pm

Boozdeuvash wrote:I played my share of nethack (a small amount by nethack addict standard, so a couple hundred hour) and the random was fun, but if you messed at some point, you always had the possibility to salvage the situation. Here, you cannot save/load (well, not without a little hacking) , and you have a giant fleet hot on your six, so it's not possible.

That being said, I would largely prefer an unforgiving game where you lose because of mistakes without possibility to save/load or otherwise salvage your game, rather than a random game where you can just quickload when the shit hits the fan a little too hard.


I'm gonna call you out on that. There are many times where you can try to salvage the situation and do the best you can to make it to the next Store, and most of the fun to me is getting yourself in these desperate situations and trying to figure out what to do best.

Lost most of your crew? Invest in System Repair / Anti-Boarding droids and the Autopilot subsystem, or risk holding out till you find some more crew members (where's a slaver when you need one?).

Lacking on the Weapons to break through an enemy's shield systems? POOT TELEPORT HERE!
angelocire
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:09 am

Re: still too bloody random

Postby angelocire » Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:10 pm

I've lost plenty of runs- sometimes my fault, sometimes the fault of random chance- but ultimately I made all the jump choices. If I didn't find a shop, it's because I jumped the wrong way. If I get no scrap, it's because I didn't do something, and not because it's not there. It's always there.

The inability to fully explore each sector is something that I think the "keep playing" option will fix(finges crossed).
Once you can exlore each sector in its entirety, I think you'll find that the problem wasn't the randomness of what the game gives you as options, it's the randomness of your jump choices in an unknown variable situation.

tl;dr...
This is not supposed to be a game you win every time.

p.s.
In the current build the teleporters are far to overpowered in how they enhance your tactical options compared to other systems. They should either be made more expensive, or have greater restrictions placed on them(i.e. being unable to teleport until you lower your and their shields, like Star Trek).

p.p.s.
If you're not using teleporters, that's why you're losing. Some peoples' strategies don't require them to win, but that playstyle is largely based on constant ship battles to maximize scrap salvaging. If you're a more careful player, and you haven't tried it yet, DO IT. Once you get the hang of them, you'll realizr how overpowered they are.
temporal
Posts: 57
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:44 pm

Re: still too bloody random

Postby temporal » Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:18 pm

Syphus wrote:Dear this thread,

Welcome to Rougelikes.

Love,

Me


This ^

FTL is in fact far easier and less random than most roguelikes out there.
CaptainQuirk
Posts: 52
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 4:42 am

Re: still too bloody random

Postby CaptainQuirk » Sun Jul 15, 2012 4:46 am

Boozdeuvash wrote:Devs: please make it less random.
Others: how do I win that game?


Devs: Please, please, please don't do that. The whole point of a 'roguelike' is the randomness. In fact, feel free to increase the randomness by 110%

Answer to second question: Kobayashi Maru

Just joined the forum, cannot wait for this game. Wish I had of known about the kickstarter earlier so I could have gotten into the Beta, but them's the breaks I guess.
Humour, reviews and rants courtesy of The Robot Overlords all at Robots Building Robots!
curithwin
Posts: 151
Joined: Sat May 05, 2012 12:42 pm

Re: still too bloody random

Postby curithwin » Sun Jul 15, 2012 8:52 am

CaptainQuirk wrote:
Boozdeuvash wrote:Others: how do I win that game?


Answer to second question: Kobayashi Maru


I too do not have access to Closed Beta. I just pray they have an Open Beta period. But your Kobayashi Maru answer is EXCELLENT!!!